Dun Morogh Troll Hunt
The Great Troll Hunt in Dun Morogh was a short campaign that attempted to halt and eradicate the remaining Frostmane Trolls that inhabited the Shimmer Ridge after the Zandalar uprising. The Hand of Thaurissan deployed scouting parties to scour the lands for remaining Trolls, later launching its full force against their might. Deployment The Hand of Thaurissan was deployed into Dun Morogh hours after the Battle of Shimmer Ridge. Setting up camp south of the Ridge, The Hand deployed, patrolling the Frostmane Village for surviving or returning Trolls. Working throughout the night they encountered small packets of surviving trolls, though outnumbered and overpowered The Hand would eradicate the Villages survivors. They continued their Patrol until dawn, relieved by Ironforge Mountaineers; they would rest and prepare for the following night. The Hand would proceed back to the Ridge the following evening, the sun slowly beginning to slip behind the peaks of the Khaz Mountains, Khazgolan Ravenbeard leading the party on a routine patrol. The Troll village was quiet, or so they thought. Within seconds Trolls began to descend from trees and appear from shadows; the group taken off guard simply kept their backs to each other, beyond the large group amassing Trolls they could see a large Frostmane shouting out orders. The Trolls leap towards the Dark Iron; the first wave crashed and fell to the combined might of the group, seizing the brief opportunity General Narrah Wildfire headed towards higher ground; shouting at her troops as the next wave rushed towards them. Now with their rear secured The Hand fought the onslaught of Trolls, Sul’Finn Steelgrip swung his chained axes causing a large kill zone on the bank they fought upon; the Trolls slowly began to retreat as the group slowly hacked away at their numbers. The large Frostmane in the back bellowed out roars of anger as he troops scattered an ran from the battle, he began sprinting at the group shouting out what seemed to be orders as he passed his cowardly kin, even killing some who continued to retreat. The Frostmane and the remaining trolls attempted one final charge on the Dark Iron, with their leader amongst them they seemed to fight without fear, the large Troll fixated on Sul’Finn and his swirling kill zone. The group of dwarfs continued to defend themselves, though the fatigue of the battle beginning to take its toll. The large Troll began to shout in a horrid attempt at Dwarvish, calling himself “Tabijinda da dismembra”. He wielded a large axe, the hilt decorated with fallen Dwarfs beards and relics. The battle between Tabijinda and the undead Dark Iron was brutal and quick, Sul’Finn using the large Troll’s anger against him, or possibly the fact he also felt little to no fear, he would allow the Troll to charge him and break his kill zone. Quickly Sul’Finn would whirl his chained axe around the Trolls body as it lunged in for an attack, severing Tabajinda’s right arm just below the shoulder, his other axe severely wounding the Troll’s right leg. During the initial assault the winds and snow and had begun to pick up, the wounded Troll let out a howling roar of anger as he watched his arm drop onto the bloodstained snow. He turned towards Sul’Finn as he ripped free of his chains, pulling the axe from his leg. Pointing at him with his remaining hand, “Joo’ll pay for dis!” he shouted at the Dwarf, though before Sul’Finn or anyone could act, the wind and snow began to blow violently creating a deadly blizzard. The remaining Trolls continued to lash out at the Dark Iron; though their moral shattered they fought till the last one. The group of dwarfs quickly searched for traces of Tabijinda as the battle finished, but the only trace of Tabijinda was a trail of footprints and his dismembered arm. With too many wounded and the weather more than unpleasant, The Hand returned back to camp, though the veteran tracker Grimiar Ravenbeard continued to search for Tabijinda through the Blizzard. The storm raged for days, General Narrah Wildfire remained stationed at their basecamp with those unharmed or still able to fight; the others awaited their orders as they healed within the Embassy. It was nearly a week before Grimiar would return, though the sky’s still grey, they planed their next choice of action with their new information he had acquired. Troll Hunting Grimiar returned to the group with information pertaining to Tabajinda's location as well as unknown number of Troll survivors, The Hand would begin their march up the mountain, the weather though calmed since their encounter would seem to worsen unnaturally as they ascended towards the peaks. There journey was slow and tedious as they battered the icy mountain paths and winds. The group sleeping in small caves or anywhere the winds could be blocked along their journey. It took the group three days to reach Grimiar’s location, exhausted and battered by the elements the group continued their search until they would stumble upon a cave the Frostmane had retreated to. Silently the group would descend deeper into the cave system, taking out small groups of trolls quietly to avoid detection as they crept through the shadows. As they approached a large chamber the group had discovered their first tactic challenge, what seemed to be the start of the Troll’s icy home was a series of huts and wooden constructions lining the cavern walls and floor; packed with bustling trolls both civilians and guards. The group conversed amongst themselves as each argued the better path, finally they would agree on a decision to wait out the trolls and sneak through as they slept. The group retreated back into one of the caves trails, waiting in silence and utter darkness; Grimiar stayed back keeping a watch on the trolls. Grimiar would return to the group several hours later, the majority of the trolls now returned to their huts or sleeping the group would begin their slow crawl through the village. Using the dimly lit cavern to their advantage they scurried through the village with ease, the Frostmane obviously suffering after the previous events lacked in proper guards. They moved towards the only exit possible, managing to avoid detection they would slip into the passage unnoticed. They continued their trek through the maze of tunnels, following the most trafficked path; their progress was slow and cautious as they attempted to avoid trolls that move throughout. The groups shroud of stealth would soon be shattered as they heard the howling of trolls, a howl they knew all too well; echoing from every corner the group picked up its pace as they began to draw their weapons reading themselves. The cave now coming to life as they felt the ground begin to vibrate, encountering a small band heading towards them; unable to turn around or flee into another passage they readied themselves. Barley able to stand shoulder to shoulder they braced themselves as the lanky creatures dropped blows from above, Narrah Wildfire at the head of the group along with Grimiar at her side took the blunt of the attacks, members behind them jabbing away at the beasts. Each kill in the narrow passageway was slowly achieved, their magic users unable to assist to their full potential in fear of bringing down the tunnel. The group pushed forward inch by inch until they entered another cavern, this time being greeted by an old friend. As they entered the chamber they would be greeted by the repulsive chuckle of the one armed troll, Tabijinda. Alongside him what looked to be an elderly troll shaman, his armor adorned small totems and relics, he stood above a small alter muttering incantations. Narrah without hesitation began shouting out orders, her voice booming within the cavern. The group charged towards the duo, Frimlor and a few others remained at the caverns entrance awaiting the oncoming reinforcements. As the group close the gap between their enemies the winds in the chamber would begin to pick up, screeching as it blew from the caverns roof and crevasses, snow beginning to circle as if forming a small miniature tornado. Khazgolan would charge the shaman in an attempt to halt his spell; the rest of the group followed their General as she charged with her axe held high at Tabijinda. Tabijinda swung his giant axe with surprising strength for his one arm, each swing followed by his taunting laugh as the group began their attack; he would deflect the brunt of their initial attack, the group still struggling as the winds continued to pick up within the chamber. As the group had begun their attack, Khazgolan attempt to intervene with the shaman. As he leaped within inches of the old troll he felt the winds draft upwards causing him to soar like a ragdoll into the caverns walls; knocking him temporally unconscious. With the shamans support the empowered Tabijinda would strike back at the group, swinging wildly most managed to avoid his barrage, Narrah would receive an arching upwards slash upon her right shoulder; managing to barely penetrate her armor the blow sent her spinning backwards onto the caverns floor. The echoing of trolls began to increase as they battled, reinforcements would soon be upon them. Slowly beginning to retain his sense, Khazgolan slowly pulled himself up and re-examined the conflict. Trolls began to poor from the tunnel; though those guarding the passage held them at bay they would soon be over run. Khazgolan picked up a nearby rock and attempted a second charge at the shaman; the old trolls concentration set upon Tabijinda he would not noticed the stone flying towards his head. With the brief disturbance in his incantation Khazgolan would ascend on him with daggers drawn, stabbing and twisting his blades rabidly into the troll’s body, ending the whirling winds and Tabijinda’s powers. The group fighting Tabijinda took advantage of his weakness quickly as they began to stab and hack away at him, bringing the large troll to his knee. The troll would attempt to speak but would be cut off early with a well place swing of Narrah’s axe; the general spitting on the trolls corpse would remove her blood soaked axe and begin shouting orders. Khazgolan charged towards the entrance, with his troops rallied behind him they clashed one last time with the trolls swiftly clearing the cavern. The group drained from the conflict stop and took a breather, the few trolls who survived fled into the tunnels. With their leader now killed the Hand felt their duties fulfilled and would begin their trek back to Ironforge to inform them of their conquest. __NOEDITSECTION__ Category:Empire of Thaurissan Category:Hand of Thaurissan Category:Events Category:Campaigns